Chain cable



(No Model.)

' J. M. DODGE.

CHAIN CABLE. No. 363,216. Patented May1'7, 1887.

Wtnesses UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE JAMES M. DODGE, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO THE EWART MANUFACTURING- COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

CHAIN CABLE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 363,216 dated May 17, 1887.

Application filed March 5, 1887.

.To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JAMES M. DODGE, of Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania,haveinvented a new and 5 useful Improvement in Chain vCables; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this application.

My invention relates to the construction of chain cables such as are used extensively for drive-chain and conveyer-chain purposes, and has especial reference to that species of chain cable patent-ed to me September 12, 1882, No. I 5 264,139, in which bearingblock or intermediate metallic pieces are employed between the links at the vicinities of their articulations for the purpose of affording largerbearing and wearing surfaces than are attainable in the use 20 of links coupled directly with each other, all

as will be found fully set forth in my said Letters Patent.

In the species of chain cables shown and described in my said patent the end bar at each 2 end of each of the links is, however, substantially semicircular in contour, so that thesemicircular bearing end of one link turns freely in contact with a correspondinglyshaped seat or groove in the hearing or friction block, that is 0 so engaged with the adjacent end of the next link as to be prevented by the latter from turning with the first-mentioned link.

My present invention has for its object to provide for use in that species of chain cable 35 the links of which are rectangular in contour interposed bearing or friction blocks,-which will permitthe perfect articulation of the parts of a chain of such species, and at the same time accomplishthe great advantage of having the 4o pintle-like ends of the rectangularlinks afford ample bearing surfaces, so as to reduce the otherwise rapid wear of the articulations; and to this end and object my invention consists in the combination, with the rectangular links of 5 a chain cable of the species just mentioned, of interposed bearing and wearing blocks formed with transversely-arranged straight grooves or seats at two opposite sides or faces of the blocks,adapted to receive and seat thestraight 50 end bars of the adjacent rectangular links in such manncras to permitsaid end bars to freely Serial No. 229,741. (No model.)

move in a pintle-like or hinge-like manner within the said grooves, all as will be hereinafter more fully explained, and as will be particularly pointed out and defined in the claim of this specification.

To enable those skilled in the art to which my invention relates to make and usea chain cable involving my present invention, I will now proceed to more fully describe the latter, referring by letters to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification, and in which I have shown my improvement carried out in that form in which I have so far successfully practiced it.

In the drawings, Figure 11's designed to show two links of a chain made according to my in'- vention in plan or top view. Fig. 2 is a partial side section of the same parts. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of one of the hearing or wearing blocks detached from the chain-links, and Fig. 4 is a vertical central section at the line as as of Fig. 1. I

In the several figures the same parts will be found designated by the same letters of reference.

A and B represent two similar rectangular links of the chain cable, and C one of the intermediately arranged bearing or wearing blocks that are arranged at all the articulations of the chain, and through the mediuinof which i the links are indirectly coupled together in such manner as to afford the requisite and usual degree of flexibility to the chain.

As clearly shown by the drawings, each one of the blocks C may be made substantially in the form of a solid cube, with grooves or seats 6 andf formed centrally in two opposite faces of the cube and in directions transverse to each other, so that, as shown, when in juxtaposition with the adjacent ends of two links, one of said links, B, will have one of its end bars accommodated in the bearing-groove c of the block C, while the other link, A,will have one of its end bars similarly accommodated within the other groove, f, of said bearing block. By this construction of bearing-block and its arrangement with the adjacent ends of the two links, as shown, either of the links may be vibrated about its housed end bar relatively to the friction -block 0, as indicated by the changed position of one of the links shown in ICO dotted lines in the drawings. It will be seen that'by this arrangement of friction-blocksG, with rectangularly-shaped links A and B, the chain will comprise articulations of such a character that the wear of each end bar of each link will be distributed over the entirelength of the end bar, so as to give much greater durability to the chain than is possessed by chain cables of the species shown and made according to the plan of construction common prior to my present invention.

It will be understood that by simply backing any two coupled link ends away from each other the friction-block 0 may be readily removed first from one and then from the other of the links for the purpose ofany renewal of said blocks or for any other desired advantage. If found expedient, however, some simple and suitable means may be provided for temporarily holding these friction-blocks in place endwise of the chain relatively to either one or both of the links, so that when the cable is in an untaut condition the blocks may'not be casually misplaced.

Of course theparticular form of blocks shown is not indispensable to the operation of the novel contrivance shown, since, instead of being made perfectly cubical in shape, they might be of some other form and still retain .thei r designed mode of operation in conjunction with the'end bars of the cable-chain links.

If desired, each of the grooves eandf of the blocks 0 may be provided with a bushing or lining-sueh as seen at d, Fig. 4-of some different metal or material from that composing the block, for the purpose of getting a more durable wearing surface between the block andthe link, or for the purpose of rendering the parts capable of articulation with the slightest possible amount of friction.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is.

The combination, with links A and B,which are substantially rectangular in form, or which,

JAMES M. DODGE.

In presence of- D. T. GROFF, D. E. KERN. 

